It's All in the Family
by Ceramac24
Summary: Bosco must put his feelings aside in order to save a family member that he dislikes. Chapter 7 is now up! Please READ AND REVIEW!!
1. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 1

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER ONE  
  
Officers Boscorelli and Yokas were waiting in the RMP, just outside the corner market on 98th and Hampton, for their shift to end. It had been a pretty slow day; therefore it had been a long day. Bosco was looking forward to the end of the shift because tomorrow was his day off. Not planning on doing anything until going to dinner at his moms, he was excited about this mini-vacation.  
  
"What are you going to do tomorrow?" he asked Faith.  
  
"I'm picking up Gusler's shift tomorrow and he is going to take one of mine next week so I can go see Charlie's school play." Faith replied.  
  
"You gonna be able to survive with out me?" he asked, turning his head towards her with that Boscorelli smile she saw so little of these days.  
  
Faith was glad that Bosco would be working with her for the next week or so, instead of up in Anti-Crime with their new sergeant. Her name was Cruz and already Faith didn't trust her. Perhaps it's a woman's instinct, but she had a feeling Cruz was trouble. Bosco idolized her (for reasons Faith would never understand) and Faith knew that Bosco was going to end up getting hurt, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it from happening.  
  
"I think I'll manage." Faith said, returning the smile.  
  
"Suit yourself," Bosco said. Glancing at his watch, "It's 10 after 11; let's head back to the station."  
  
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The next night, Bosco checked his watch as he walked up the stairs to his mother's apartment. 5:45 pm. He was a little early, but she, of course, wouldn't care. Using his key, he entered his mother's apartment.  
  
"Ma?" he called out.  
  
"In the kitchen, Maurice!"   
  
He walked back in the kitchen to find her taking the lasagna out of the oven.  
  
"Looks like I'm just in time." Bosco said, giving his mom a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Not yet," Rose said. "We have to wait for Julie." Turning around, she looked at her son for the first time since he got there. "You could have dressed up a little," she said, referring to his jeans and sweatshirt.  
  
Bosco gave his mother a confused look. "Who's Julie?" he asked, ignoring his mother's comment about his clothes.  
  
"Julie. You're cousin Julie." she said, grabbing the plates from the cupboard.  
  
"Julie from dad's side?" he asked, his mother nodding her head. "Oh no, ma, you didn't!"  
  
She put the plates on the table and moved around Bosco to grab the glasses. "Maurice, I told you three weeks ago that your cousin Julie moved to New York and that when she was all settled she was coming over for dinner."  
  
Bosco groaned. It's not that he didn't like his cousin; he hated her.   
  
"Maurice, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I'm sure that she's grown up a little since you last saw her!" his mother said.   
  
Bosco started setting the table for his mother. Great, he thought, now I am going to have to spend the whole night acting like that night at the park didn't happen, just to make Ma happy.   
  
As if reading his mind, his mother said, "You don't have to change your feelings towards her for me. Just as long as you are polite and don't say anything stupid." She handed him the silverware. Rose noticed the tension in her son's eyes. This meeting wasn't going to be easy on anyone, especially Rose, who would have to mediate if things got ugly. "Maurice, you haven't seen your cousin since you both were 16 years old. My guess is that she's not the same girl you remember."  
  
Bosco was beginning to doubt his mother's confidence in his cousin's maturity, since she lacked it the last time they saw one another. "So, what's she doing in New York?" he asked.  
  
Just then the doorbell rang. "You can ask her that yourself!" Rose said, throwing her apron in the closet and walking over to let her niece in the apartment. Opening the door, Rose revealed a physically different girl than Bosco remembered. She was a little taller than he expected; she must have grown significantly in her late teens. Her once long, mousy brown hair was cut into a neat bob, the color a rich auburn with gold highlights. She carried herself well, he thought, as she stepped into the room. Always on her high horse, no doubt, Bosco said to himself.  
  
"Hi Rose!" Julie said from the doorway.  
  
"Julie!" Rose said, as she ushered her niece in and embracing her. Taking a step back, Rose exclaimed, "Oh my, you look fabulous! Doesn't she look fabulous Maurice?"  
  
"Yeah, fabulous." he answered. He hated uncomfortable formalities.  
  
Taking Julie by the arm, she brought her over to where Bosco was standing. "Julie, you remember your cousin Maurice, right?"   
  
"Sure," Julie said. "How've you been?" she asked, looking at everything else in the room except her cousin.  
  
"Fine." he said, doing the same.   
  
Rose sensed that this uneasiness between the two cousins wasn't going to go away unless she helped them. "Why don't we sit down and eat, huh? I just pulled the lasagna out of the oven before you rang the bell."  
  
Thankful for the interruption, Julie graciously followed her aunt into the dining room of the apartment. The conversation that flowed during dinner was mostly just formality. Rose asked Julie to explain her job at Bloomingdale's department store headquarters in the city.  
  
"Well," Julie began. "Basically, my title is Senior Buyer. But, it involves much more that the actual purchasing of the clothes for Bloomingdale's. I also talk daily with the Associate Buyers underneath me and with our different clientele from around the world. I deal with the forecasting of trends and deciding on where certain styles are going in relation to what our consumers want. It's a very taxing job."  
  
"That sounds very interesting." Rose said, taking a sip of her wine.  
  
"You actually went to school for this?" Bosco asked, unimpressed. If anyone's job was taxing, it was his and not hers.  
  
"Believe it or not, Maurice, but some idiot off the street couldn't just walk in to my office and do my job." she said, already annoyed with her cousin. She knew coming here was a mistake; there were still a lot of unresolved issues between the two of them. She didn't know why she deluded herself into thinking they would disappear with age. "You couldn't do it," she said, trying to push his buttons. If he was going to try to embarrass her in front of his mother, she thought, two can play that game.  
  
Rose sensed that this was going to get ugly, so she broke in before it went any further. "What's your apartment look like Julie?"  
  
"Well," she started. "It's a little two-bedroom on top of a Grocer on 110th Street. It's called Tallie's. It's very spacious and the rent is cheap." she finished. She was grateful for the change in subject, because she got the last word. And she knew that if there was one thing that would bother her cousin for the rest of the night, that would be it.  
  
Bosco looked at his mother in shock. She hadn't even let him defend himself in what could have been a great argument between him and the bitch across from him. His mother had the nerve to change the subject! Bosco got up, threw his napkin down, and walked away from the table, muttering some request to be excused. Rose turned to watch her sons retreating form, while Julie stared at her food. They heard Bosco open the door to the apartment and slam it with such a force it's a wonder the pictures didn't fall off the wall.  
  
"This was a bad idea, coming here." Julie said, after a few moments of silence, the door slam still ringing in their ears. "I should have known that all Boscorelli's are stubborn."  
  
"And that trait he definitely gets from his father." Rose said, gathering the plates from the table. "And you from your father."   
  
"It was a long time ago, Rose. I thought he would have been over it." Julie said, helping her aunt clear off the table. Julie had thought she was over it too, but being back here tonight, in her cousin's presence, she realized that everything that was said between the two of them, all those years ago, still hung over them like a little black rain cloud that refused to go away.  
  
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STAY TUNED for Chapter 2. It's a flashback chapter of what exactly happened the night in the park (when they were 16 years old) that made the two cousins hate each other. 


	2. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 2

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
"You're right," Rose said, clearing off the last of the plates. "It was a long time ago."  
  
Julie followed her aunt into the kitchen with her pile of dishes. Rose was busy putting the lid on the lasagna pan. She hated to have her aunt be in the middle of this. It wasn't fair. She placed her plates on the counter and turned on the sink. Julie grabbed a load of dishes and placed them into the sink.  
  
Rose came over and placed a hand on Julie's arm. "You don't have to do this," she said, nodding at the dishes. Her blue eyes met her nieces brown ones. Rose could see the remorse in them, and knew that if Julie could take back everything that was said that night, she would. She brought Julie into an embrace.   
  
"I'm sorry." Julie said, enfolding herself in her aunt's arms. "I never got a chance to say that before."  
  
Rose let go of Julie and took her face in her hands. "I'm not the one you should be saying it to."  
  
Julie sighed, knowing her aunt was right. She went back into the living room and grabbed her coat and purse. Giving Rose a quick kiss on the cheek, she went out into the New York City night, lost in her thoughts.   
  
For a January night, it was quite warm. Still, Julie shivered underneath her caramel colored wool trench coat. She wished that she hadn't forgotten her hat at her apartment when she left in the first place. She walked only a few blocks to the subway platform and got on her train. The ride would be about 15 minutes; she needed to think of how to repair her relationship with her cousin.  
  
It all went back to events that took place in the park. Julie hadn't thought about that night in years. But, as if it were yesterday, she could still hear their voices echoing in her head. She had acted like such a child that night. She had been jealous and immature. Now, she was just embarrassed. She had fought back with the only words that would make Maurice leave her alone; and it had cost her a potential friendship with her cousin. She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the window of the subway car. Seconds later, in her mind, she was sixteen again, taking that long journey down Memory Lane.   
  
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15 YEARS EARLIER  
  
"Maurice! Mikey! Hurry up boys, or we're going to be late!" Rose Boscorelli yelled to her sons down the hall of their apartment in Manhattan. If they were to make it to her ex-brother-in-law's house just outside the city, they would have to leave in a few short minutes.  
  
"Mom!" fourteen year-old Mikey called from the bedroom. "Maurice says that he's not going!"  
  
"Not this again, Maurice!" she said. Rose walked down the hallway and into the bedroom that her two teenage sons shared. She sat down on the bed, next to Maurice. "I know you don't want to go," she said, stroking his hair. "But, Roger is taking me away for a weekend vacation and I have nowhere else to bring you and your brother."  
  
"Can't we just stay here?" Bosco pleaded. "I promise there won't be any trouble!"  
  
Rose laughed. "Just like you promised me last time? I don't think so Maurice," she said, getting up from the bed and coming to a standstill in the doorway. "Get your bag. We have to go," she said. Bosco sighed. She owed him big time for this, he thought. He grabbed his bag and followed his mother and little brother out the front door of the apartment.  
  
The train ride was a little over an hour. His mother got teary-eyed on the platform when she saw them off. Mikey just rolled his eyes at her.   
  
Bosco didn't get his mother sometimes. She wouldn't leave him home alone, but she would send him and his brother on a train all by themselves. He could easily get off at any stop and have the whole weekend to do as he pleased. Him and Mikey would quietly roam the streets of New York, not having to answer to anyone. He couldn't wait for the day he turned eighteen, he thought to himself as the train pulled away, bringing them closer and closer to a weekend he was not looking forward to.  
  
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At their stop, Bosco and Mikey's aunt and uncle were waiting for them. Their uncle Nicolas was their father's only brother. He was older by two years, the same as Bosco and Mikey, although Bosco hoped that was their only similarity. Even though he hadn't seen his uncle, or any of their family for that matter, since his father left, Bosco was always hearing stories of his infamous Uncle Nick. He was a womanizer and apparently didn't try to hide it from his wife.  
  
"Hello boys!" his uncle said as they stepped off the train. He grabbed each of them in an awkward embrace. "How was the ride?"  
  
"Thrilling." Bosco replied. Was this weekend going to suck, or what? "It was ok," Mikey said, setting down his bag. Bosco did the same.  
  
"You boys both remember your aunt Sharon right?" Nick said, motioning to his wife. She was a very tiny woman, both in height and in weight. No wonder she let him run around, Bosco thought, he would break her in two if she stood up to him. "Hello boys," she said. She stepped over to Mikey and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She almost had to stand on her toes to reach! She came over and did the same to Bosco.   
  
"You both look so grown up since the last time that I saw you!" she said, getting a little teary-eyed, just like his mother did before. Maybe it was his mother and aunt Sharon that were related, Bosco thought, the idea making him smile. He could just imagine timid Sharon and outspoken Rose as siblings.  
  
"Well, let's pick up your things and get going!" Nick said, reaching down to grab Mikey's suitcase. They walked to the forest-green Ford Taurus out front. Nick put all the bags in the trunk and then unlocked the doors to the car. "It's a busy day for me," he said. "I've got places to go and people to see. You know, work related."   
  
I'll bet, Bosco thought. He got in the car, far passed wishing he could go home. Now, he was praying for it.   
  
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Once at the house, Bosco and Mikey were reunited with their cousins Julie, who was sixteen also, and James, who was eight. The first night was boring, like Bosco expected. There was nothing to do, so Bosco spent the night in the guest room, staring at the ceiling. His uncle was off on another "business" dinner and his aunt had locked herself in her room, which Julie said was normal. The second night, the last night they were to be there, was just a repeat of the first. Only this time, Sharon gathered all the cousins in the living room before she went up to bed. She told them that if they were going to do nothing, they were going to do it together.  
  
That's where they had been for the last hour. Julie was on the couch, flipping through a Vogue magazine, acting like she was 25 years old, Bosco thought. Mikey and James were playing with a toy of James' on the floor. Bosco was staring off in space on the loveseat in the living room, pulling on the string of his sweatshirt. It was dead silent, except for an occasional giggle from James. Desperate for something, anything, to do, Bosco broke the silence. "Wasn't there a park that we passed on the way back from the station?"  
  
"Willard Park, I bet." Julie said. "Did it have a big yellow slide?" James asked.  
  
"I think."   
  
"Yeah, that's Willard Park." Julie said. "Why?"  
  
"Just thinking of stuff to do." He went back to pulling at the string on his sweatshirt. A few seconds later he asked, "You guys wanna go?"  
  
"Yeah, Julie!" James said, jumping up and running to his sister. "Can we? Can we?"  
  
"I don't think so James," she said. "Why not?" Bosco and James asked in unison.   
  
"Because I don't like the idea of sneaking out of the house this late at night!"  
  
"Julie, come on!" Bosco said, getting to his feet. "You said so yourself that your mom will lock herself in her room for the rest of the night and that your dad won't be home again until 2 or 3 in the morning."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, it's not even dark out yet." Bosco said. The desperate tone of his voice made her rethink her natural impulse to say no again.  
  
"Fine. But you have to promise to help me keep an eye on James."  
  
"Fine. You have to promise to help me keep an eye on Mikey." he said, smiling.  
  
They were very quiet as they left the house and headed for the park. It was a warm night for October and there wasn't much wind. James ran right to the slide; it was his favorite thing about the park. "Be careful James!" Julie said, walking over to the swings. She sat down and started pushing herself.  
  
Bosco went and sat in the sand, nearest to the swings. He started playing with it, running it between his hands. The silence between the cousins resumed once again, and Bosco laughed.  
  
"What's so funny?" Julie asked. "Well, I wanted to get out of the house to escape the silence, not to bring it on again." Bosco replied. "Well, maybe we all just better accept the fact that we have nothing in common." Julie said, still swinging. "James, come over here please." Julie yelled to her brother.  
  
"Man, what the hell's your problem?" Bosco asked, rhetorically. James came to sit next to him and began playing in the sand also. "So James, what do you want to be when you grow up?" he asked, trying to start any sort of conversation.   
  
"I'm gonna be a cop." James said, reaching into his pocket and showing off the plastic badge and ID card that his mother gave him for his birthday last month.   
  
"A cop? Cops are worthless!" Bosco said to his little cousin. "If there is one thing I'm never going to be, it's a cop!"   
  
"No, but you'll have your run-ins with them frequently!" Julie said, pushing herself higher on the swing.  
  
"Oh yeah?" he said, "Well, at least I'm not going to be some dried up old hag with eight cats!" Bosco shot back. Julie was getting on his nerves tonight. He didn't know what the hell her problem with him was.  
  
"Old hag!" Julie exclaimed, stopping the swing. "Yeah," Bosco said. "With a mother who's looney from the bastard husband she's got!"   
  
"Oh, like you should talk!" Julie said, throwing her head back laughing.  
  
"Hey guys," Mikey broke in. "You're starting to scare James."  
  
They ignored him. "At least my old man didn't get under the skirt of every woman that came within a 5-mile radius!" Bosco said, smugly.  
  
"No, yours made up for that by using your mother as a punching bag!" Julie yelled.  
  
Bosco's mouth dropped open. He could have said so many things right then and there, but he kept his mouth shut for the first time in his life. James was suddenly beside him, and Bosco was not going to fight about their fathers in front of him. Bosco knew what it was like to be that age and have a father that you couldn't look up to. It was the most difficult thing in his life.   
  
Julie on the other had, did not take the hint. She kept right on running her mouth. "He's gone! Out of your life! You have nothing to worry about anymore!" she said, the tears starting to form in her eyes. "You don't have to watch your mother be degraded while you sit back and do nothing. You do nothing, because you can't. You don't know how lucky you are."  
  
Mikey held James by both shoulders and led him away from the feuding cousins. He wasn't about to let James hear this conversation at such a young age. With his brother being a part of it, Mikey knew that it could get nasty.  
  
"Lucky! How do you figure I'm lucky?" Bosco said, thankful that Mikey started back to the house with James. Bosco could now safely tear into his cousin for what she said. "I still have to live with the fact that everyday I am without a 'real' father. Even the guy my mother has now still knocks her around every once in a while. I try to step in and I get knocked down! Don't tell me about my life when you know nothing about it!" Bosco yelled in her face, which was wet with tears. "I'm far from lucky."  
  
He turned and started to follow Mikey and James, who were at least 20 yards ahead of him. He turned around once more to face her. "You know, that cop business that your brother was talking about doesn't sound so bad now."  
  
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That was the last time the cousins spoke to one another. They parted the next day, each silently refusing to let go of the grudge they had towards one another. Too many things had been said, and like true Boscorelli's, their pride refused to let them apologize to one another.   
  
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PRESENT DAY  
  
Julie said goodnight to Ray Tallie, her landlord, who was just closing up the shop when she got back. She walked upstairs to her apartment, unlocked the door and went inside. Her roommate, Sarah, was out, so Julie had the apartment to herself. She went to the refrigerator and got a bottle of MGD Light and sat down at the kitchen table. She put her face in her hands. She had been reliving the story of the park the whole way home. It physically hurt her to even think about it and the way that she acted.  
  
Her father, like Maurice's, was not a father to model oneself after. He ran around with so many women, but the thing that Julie never understood was the fact that he never tried to hide it. When her mother told her about Bosco's father leaving his family, she got optimistic. She had so desperately wanted her father to leave too, and spare their family the embarrassment of the neighbors and family members ridicule. She got laughed at, pointed at, and talked about, at the high school by her peers. At sixteen, that's enough to make you fearful of school. She thought all Bosco's problems were solved and she had hated him for it. Downing her beer in one breath, learned from her college years at Madison, she grabbed another from the fridge and brought it and the phone with her onto the couch. Rose had given her Maurice's number before she left, so she dialed it.  
  
It started ringing.   
  
Ring, after ring, after ring. Finally his machine picked up. "This is Officer Boscorelli of the 55th Precinct. I'm probably out searching New York City for you. Leave a message so I know where to look."  
  
Julie smiled at her cousin's creativity. "Maurice?" she said to the machine. "Maurice, if you're there, pick up the phone…please pick up."  
  
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STAY TUNED for Chapter 3. This story is FAR from over. 


	3. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 3

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER THREE  
  
Bosco was sitting on the couch in the living room of his apartment, beer in hand, listening to the phone ring. He decided to let the machine get it. After all, it was probably his mother and he wasn't in the mood to explain what happened earlier tonight. The machine picked up and he heard his priceless message; it never failed to make him smile. Suddenly a voice he expected to be his mothers filled the room; it was Julie.  
  
"Maurice?" she said. "Maurice, if you're there, pick up the phone…please pick up."  
  
Bosco just stared at the phone while she left the message and her number of where she could be reached. He had lost all interest in his beer now. He got up and walked over to the living room window. He had a great view of the city from his apartment. He loved looking out at it when he was trying to think. What the hell was Julie trying to prove, he asked himself. Did she think this was going to be one of those Brady Bunch reunions?   
  
He went to his room and pulled his free-weights out from under the bed. He needed to do a little physical exercise to take his mind off of things. By the time he was finished, 2 hours later, he was drenched with sweat. Grabbing a towel, he laid down on his couch, telling himself he was only going to shut his eyes for a moment. Next thing he knew, he was fast asleep.   
  
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The next day had been as busy as can be. They had call, after call, after call, during the first hour. By the second hour, Bosco and Faith knew it was going to be one of those days.  
  
"Pull the car over here." Faith said. They were on 7th Street, just outside Tallie's grocer and convenience store. Bosco did and then immediately wished he hadn't when he realized where he was; just outside Julie's apartment. "What are we stopping here for?" he asked.  
  
Faith got out of the car and then leaned into the open window. "Girl stuff." she said, nonchalantly. "I don't wanna know." Bosco said, throwing up his hands. He really hoped that Julie didn't walk out here and recognize him in the car. That was the last thing he needed on a day like today.   
  
He had woken up on the couch around 4 AM this morning, unable to think of anything but her and their situation. He wasn't ready to forgive and forget. It still hurt too much. Yeah, it might have been ages ago, but it still burned in his memory and controlled his pride. He had gotten out of the RMP to stretch his legs when the one thing he didn't want to happen, did in fact happen.   
  
"Bos, someone's looking for you." Faith said, exiting the store, with Julie right behind her. Julie had come up to her in the store as Faith was in line and asked if she knew an Officer Boscorelli. Faith had told her he was right outside. Julie has introduced herself after that, as Bosco's cousin.  
  
"Maurice, I--" Julie started. She broke off, unable to think of anything to say. She had been unprepared for this meeting, but she wasn't about to let it pass her by.   
  
"I'm working Julie." Bosco said, walking around to the driver's side of the RMP. "Shouldn't you be doing the same? After all, if you don't get your job done the world's gonna fall apart, right?"  
  
"I didn't say that Maurice."  
  
"Not in so many words." he said, slamming the door and throwing the car in drive. 55-David sped off, tires squealing; dust whirling in the air and then falling softly to the ground. It left Julie standing there, feeling like a fool. Who was she kidding, she thought. This family relationship was over years ago, so why was she even trying to repair it? She went back inside and grabbed the dinner that Tallie had made for her and Sarah and brought it upstairs.   
  
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"Don't you think that was a little rude?" Faith said. She popped one of her fries into her mouth. They had stopped for dinner at one of their usual places.  
  
"Don't I think what was rude?" Bosco said between bites. There hadn't been a slow moment today, and he was starving.  
  
"Speeding off like that today, leaving your cousin just standing there."  
  
"You obviously haven't heard our history," said Bosco.  
  
"55-David to Central." came the call over the radio. Bosco groaned. "Can't a guy even eat!" he said, grabbing his walkie. "This is 55-David."  
  
"Sorry to break up dinner, but we got a complaint of a harassment in progress down on 10th."   
  
"55-David 10-4." Bosco said. He threw down his napkins and some bills for their dinner. "I got it this time Faith." They grabbed their hats and jumped in the RMP. Sirens flashing, they were off.  
  
They reached 10th to find a girl, looking to be in her early twenties, being followed by an older man, with a very thick build; his name was Jerry. Jerry was a mentally disabled adult, who lived in a brownstone just around the corner with his caretaker. The house had belonged to his family, but when they died, he inherited it, along with round-the-clock supervision. This was how his family would always know he was taken care of; and not put into a group home. Jerry was also one of 55's regulars. When his caretaker brings him outside for some fresh air, he sometimes wanders off, roaming the streets of his neighborhood. Someone of the 55th Precinct finds him, usually from a complaint such as this, and brings him home.  
  
Bosco parked the RMP on the side of the road. He and Faith exited the car and walked over to them. "Jerry!" Faith said. "What do you think you're doing?" She took him over to the side to talk to him. Bosco got the story straight from the girl. "What's your name?"  
  
"Lynn." she said, her arms full with groceries. "What happened?" Bosco asked.  
  
"I was coming back from the grocer down on 7th and he started following me, asking me questions."  
  
"What kind of questions?"   
  
"He asked if I would be his friend, and told me that I had nice eyes," she said. "It just freaked me out, so I called 911 on my cell at 8th Street."   
  
"Don't worry, he won't bother you again. We'll see that he gets back home." Bosco said. He turned to look at Faith putting Jerry into the back of the RMP.  
  
"Home?" Lynn asked.   
  
"Yeah, he lives right around the corner. Him and his caretaker." he said. Lynn didn't look too pleased with the fact that her harasser was going to walk off scot-free. "Listen," Bosco said. "He does this every once in a while. If you didn't notice, he's a little slow."   
  
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." she said, sarcastically.  
  
"I'm just saying that we bring him home and then he behaves himself for a while. There's not a whole lot more we can do!" Bosco said. Lynn just rolled her eyes. "Look, if you want to file a formal complaint, you have the right to do so. But believe me, it's going to be a huge waste of your time."  
  
Lynn smiled a sarcastic thank you and turned around and continued her walk home, groceries in hand. Bosco joined Faith, already in the RMP, to take Jerry back home. They walked him up the steps to his brownstone and knocked on the door. No one answered.  
  
"Is Susan there?" Faith asked Jerry, referring to his caretaker.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"See if the door's open." Bosco said. Faith tried them and they were. They brought Jerry inside. It usually was a handsome house, very open and welcoming. Today, it looked like someone hadn't cleaned it in weeks. They placed Jerry on the sofa. Faith bent down so that she was eye level with him. "Now, Jerry, I want you to behave yourself and don't go wandering off anymore, ok?"  
  
Jerry fidgeted and finally nodded his head. Bosco and Faith turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind them. "Wonder where Susan was?" Faith asked. "That place was a mess."  
  
"If she's smart, she found a job far away from that nutcase!" Bosco said. They got into the RMP and resumed their shift.   
  
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About an hour later, Bosco and Faith happened to be driving down 7th again. Something on the sidewalk caught Bosco's eye and he slowed the car down a bit. "What's wrong?" Faith asked.  
  
"I don't believe this!" Bosco said, stopping the car at the next corner, just outside Tallie's Grocer. He ran over to where Jerry seemed to be bothering another girl...his cousin Julie.  
  
"What'd we tell you earlier about bothering girls, Jerry?" Bosco said, coming between Jerry and Julie. "I tell you this over and over. You'd think sooner or later, it'd catch up with that slow mind of yours." Bosco said, tapping Jerry's forehead with his index finger.   
  
Jerry backed away. "I wasn't...bothering her…Off…Officer." Jerry stammered. Bosco noticed he usually did this when they were confronting him. "I was just…just talking to…to her." Jerry looked at Julie, who was talking over what happened to Faith.  
  
"She...she has nice eyes." Bosco rolled his eyes at this usual phrase. "I thought she could…could be my…my friend." Jerry continued. He kept looking past Bosco at Faith and Julie.  
  
"All right Jerry," Bosco started, getting in Jerry's face. "Why don't you be on your way?" he said, giving Jerry a little push in the opposite direction. "She ain't gonna be your friend today!"  
  
Jerry turned and walked up the street, looking back at them several times. "AND NO MORE BOTHERING GIRLS!" Bosco yelled as Jerry disappeared around the corner.  
  
"My hero," Julie said, her and Faith coming up behind him. "Couldn't you have done something? He was really kind of creepy."  
  
"Nah," Bosco said. "He's just a little mental, that's all."  
  
"What he means," Faith said, "Is that Jerry is mentally disabled."  
  
"Isn't that what I just said?" Bosco asked Faith, getting defensive.   
  
Ignoring her partner, Faith went on. "We usually give him a warning and send him on his way. He stops for a while, but it's hard, you know? You can't arrest a guy for literally not knowing any better."  
  
"Isn't he in a home or something?" Julie asked.  
  
"He's got a caretaker in the house he lives in, but we haven't seen that much of her lately. She might have found work elsewhere. She was a young nurse out of Mercy."  
  
"Still," Julie said, shivering. "There was something about him that creeped me out."  
  
"A night in jail is the longest he'd be off the streets." Bosco said. "For someone who claims she's all grown up, you're being such a baby. He's harmless…"  
  
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CHAPTER FOUR is right around the corner!! 


	4. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 4

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER FOUR  
  
"So, Emily comes home from school yesterday crying her eyes out because some boy called her a dumb bitch in front of everyone at lunch." Faith was telling Bosco later that night. Since they had broken up the encounter between Jerry and Julie, things had been a little slow. It was now closing in around 10:30 pm and they were both ready for their shift to be over with.  
  
"Maybe she gave him a reason to." Bosco said, glancing out the driver's side window.  
  
Faith slapped Bosco on the arm. "I'm kidding Faith!" he said, smiling.   
  
"I'm just asking, why are guys like that?" Faith said.  
  
"If you're looking for an explanation of why guys are the way we are, you're barking up the wrong tree." Bosco said. "I don't ask you to explain your gender to me!"  
  
"I would, but I don't like repeating myself."  
  
"55-David to Central." The radio call interrupted their conversation. "This is 55-David, go ahead Central." Faith replied, smiling at Bosco.  
  
"David, request that you return to the station."  
  
"Is something wrong?" Faith asked.  
  
"Just get back here!"  
  
"Wonder what that's about?" Faith asked.  
  
"Beats the hell out of me!" Bosco said, turning the car around.  
  
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"What's going on?" Bosco asked Officer Marcus, as they approached the desk after entering the station.  
  
"You've got company, Boscorelli." Marcus said, pointing behind Bosco.  
  
Bosco turned around to see his mother sitting on the benches. "Ma?" he asked, coming to her side. Faith was right behind him.   
  
"Oh, Maurice, thank god!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck.  
  
"What's happened mom, what's wrong?" he asked, pushing her back so she could explain. He searched her face for any clues. "Is it Mikey?"  
  
"It's Julie."  
  
"Julie?"  
  
"She didn't come over tonight like she was supposed to."  
  
"You came all the way down here to tell me that?" Bosco said, throwing his hands in the air and letting out a laugh. "She could be running late! You know how taxing that job is of hers!" he said sarcastically.  
  
"Knock it off, Maurice. I'm not kidding," his mother said. She walked away from the crowd that had suddenly gathered at the station. "Can we go somewhere a little more quiet?" she asked.  
  
"Mom, you're not serious about this, are you?"  
  
She turned and grabbed a hold of both of his forearms and looked him straight in the eyes. He felt his blood run cold. Her eyes told him that she wasn't fooling around. "She's not running late Maurice."  
  
"Ok, Ma, ok." he said. Bosco took his mother into the room where they did roll call. It wouldn't be in use for another 20 minutes, so they had time. Faith brought Rose over a cup of coffee. "Thank you, Faith." Rose said, taking the cup from her.  
  
"What makes you think something's happened to Julie?" Bosco asked. Rose looked up, trying to think of the best way to respond to her son. "And if you say 'It's a mother's instinct'…"  
  
Rose smirked at her son, who thought he was being cute. "She was supposed to be over for coffee around 7:30/8 o'clock. She never showed. I thought she was running late, so I didn't worry. By the time 10 o'clock rolled around, she still wasn't there, so I figured that she just plain forgot."  
  
"We saw her today," Bosco said, motioning to Faith. "And she never said anything about coffee at your place."  
  
"You really didn't give her a chance." Faith said.  
  
"Oh lord," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Maurice, you're lucky my energy is being used on trying to find your cousin instead of chewing you out about not giving that girl a chance to apologize to you!"  
  
Ignoring both his mother and his partner's comments, Bosco urged Rose to continue her story about what went on tonight.  
  
"Well, since she wasn't at the apartment by 10, naturally I called her place." Rose said. She got up and started pacing the room. Her hands were shaking, she was so nervous about what might have happened to Julie. "Her roommate, Sarah, told me that Julie had left hours ago."  
  
"To go to your place?" Faith asked.  
  
"That's what she said." Rose said, sitting down in a chair across the room from Bosco and Faith. She got up again and walked right over to Bosco and stood in front of him. "I got so worried that I came right down here."  
  
"Ma, that doesn't mean that she's missing! It could mean anything! She could be--"  
  
"Maurice, it means she's in trouble." Rose interrupted. "I can feel it."  
  
Bosco stood there, silently staring at his mother. She had resumed pacing the floor. Faith had gone to get her another cup of coffee. It was hard to not believe in what his mother was saying. Every move that she made and every word that escaped her mouth was dripping with sincere concern over his cousin and where she might be at this moment. Bosco had seen this fear in his mother's eyes before. It always showed when she knew Mikey was in trouble or when Bosco would recount an "adventure" that he had at work. To put it simply, whenever she knew someone she loved was in trouble.   
  
He grabbed his mother in an embrace. "Ok, mom, don't worry." he said. Faith came back with the coffee and handed one to Rose and the other to Bosco. "It wouldn't hurt to ask around the neighborhood and see if anyone saw her earlier." Faith said.  
  
"Don't you have to get home?" Bosco asked his partner.  
  
"Fred's there." she said. "Besides, you could use and extra pair of eyes if we're gonna be looking for her."  
  
"Thank you, Faith." Rose said, laying a hand on her arm.  
  
"We don't even know for sure that's she's missing!" Bosco said. "Let's all stop jumping to conclusions." He stood up and took his mother by the arm and led her out the door. "Go home, Ma, and I'll call you if we find anything." Rose gave Bosco a light squeeze on the hand, and out the door she went. Bosco leaned back against the wall, suddenly very exhausted.   
  
"I'm going to go call Fred." Faith said, walking down to the desk. Bosco didn't move. She returned a few seconds later, finding Bosco still against the wall, deep in thought.  
  
"We're gonna find her." she said, leaning against the wall also. "You worried about her?"  
  
"No," Bosco said, suddenly becoming defensive. He shot off the wall and they started to walk out to his car, parked in front of the precinct. "Besides, she's probably off in some park somewhere, laying into to some guy about the screwed up family he has."  
  
"What?" Faith asked, confused.  
  
"Nothing." Bosco said, getting in and slamming the driver's side door of his car. He forgot that he hadn't told the whole story to Faith yet. Maybe he'd tell her later tonight, or not at all.   
  
They started their drive to Julie's apartment on 7th Street. On the way there, so many thoughts were running thorough Bosco's head. He couldn't shake the look of fear that he saw in his mother's eyes. Plus, he had lied to Faith back at the precinct. He was worried. His mother had never been wrong in situations like these before. He only hoped that they found Julie, wherever she was…  
  
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Stay tuned for CHAPTER FIVE! 


	5. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 5

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Bosco parked the RMP just outside Tallie's Grocer. He and Faith went around the back and up the stairs to where the front doors of the two apartments were. Ray Tallie lived right next door to Julie. Bosco pounded on the door marked with a 1.  
  
"Police! Open up!"  
  
A few seconds later, the door open slightly, held in place by the metal chain link. Ray Tallie stood, baseball bat in hand, on the other side of the door. "What do you want?"  
  
"Sir, put the bat down." Bosco said. "I'm Officer Boscorelli and this is Officer Yokas. We work down at the 55th Precinct."  
  
"Boscorelli? You must be Julie's cousin," he said, unlinking the chain. "She told me she had a relative on the force. Come on in."  
  
Bosco and Faith entered the apartment. It was a small space, just a living room, a small attached kitchen, and then a narrow hallway that no doubt lead to the bedrooms. He smiled as he recalled Julie's description of her place. "Spacious" was the word that she had used.  
  
"What can I do for you, Officers?" Ray asked, motioning for them to sit down and make themselves comfortable.  
  
"Mr. Tallie--" Bosco started. "Ray, please." Ray interrupted.   
  
"Ok, Ray." Bosco said. "When was the last time that you saw Julie?"  
  
"Um, it was earlier tonight."  
  
"How early?"  
  
"Around 7:15."  
  
"What was she doing?" Faith asked.  
  
"One of my part-timers called in sick and she was helping out until she had to leave." Ray said. He scratched what appeared to be a three-day beard. "She was heading out for coffee at her aunt's house, I think."  
  
"That's it? You didn't see her come back, or anything suspicious when she left?" Bosco asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"You didn't hear a scream or a scuffle or anything?"  
  
"No, I said. What's going on? Is she okay?"  
  
"There is a possibility that she may be missing." Faith said. Bosco shifted in his seat, still not wanting to believe that this was happening.  
  
"Missing?" Ray asked. "You mean, like kidnapped?"  
  
"It's possible." Faith said. "We just want to cover all the angles and make sure that she's okay."  
  
"Well, if you need my help at all, please don't hesitate to ask." Ray said, getting up from his chair to show both officers out. "She's a terrific kid."  
  
"Yeah, apparently that's what everyone thinks." Bosco said, half serious and half joking. Faith gave a look that told him enough was enough. They thanked Ray and promised to call if there were any changes.  
  
"Where to now?" Faith said as they got back into Bosco's car.   
  
"I don't know." Bosco said, resting his head on the steering wheel. "She could be anywhere."  
  
"At least we narrowed down the location of the abduction, broad as it may be." Faith said.  
  
"If you're trying to point out a silver lining about tonight, you're doing a shitty job at it!"  
  
Faith ignored her partner. "I wish there was a way to be in a few places at once and cover all that area, see if anything suspicious turns up."  
  
Suddenly Bosco got an idea. "We might not be able to do it all ourselves, but I know someone who can get us the help we need!" he said, flipping a U-turn and racing back towards the precinct.  
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Bosco took the stairs two at a time. If anyone could help him, Cruz could. Faith had disagreed the whole way back, but Bosco didn't want to listen. Cruz would help him, he thought. She was at her desk when he and Faith reached the top of the stairs. "Sarge, I need your help."  
  
"What is it Boscorelli?" she said, not even looking up from her paperwork.  
  
"We need a guy, maybe two or three, to keep a look out at the grocer's over on 7th Street." Bosco said, putting both hands on the front edge of her desk. "You know, ask around if anyone saw anything suspicious tonight. Plus, circle the area around the store and up until the subway station."  
  
She finally looked up. "What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"My cousin, Julie, may be missing."   
  
"How long has she been missing?"  
  
"A couple of hours." Bosco said.  
  
Cruz looked through her drawers until she came to what she was looking for. She handed Bosco a thin Missing Persons file. "Fill these out and bring it back to me when it's been 72 hours." She got up from her desk and started to walk towards the stairs leading to the main floor.  
  
"She may be dead by then!" Bosco said, his voice rising. He threw the file back on her desk.   
  
Cruz turned and gave both officers long, hard stares. She came back over and slapped the paperwork against Bosco's chest. "You come back to me when it reaches 72. Is that understood?"  
  
"Whatever you say, ma'am." Bosco said, his voice dripping with false sincerity.  
  
"Don't f**k around with me Boscorelli. You'll be working graveyard shifts for the rest of your pathetic career!" she said, and stormed out of the room and down the stairs.   
  
"Wow." Faith said.   
  
"Don't even say it, Faith."  
  
"Say what? I told you so?" Faith asked. She surely would never understand Bosco's admiration for their sergeant. "Explain to me why you like working with her better than me."  
  
"I never said that, Faith." Bosco said. "It's just a different experience working in Anti-Crime."  
  
"Comes standard with Hitler and everything!" Faith said, walking down the stairs in front of her partner. "You know, in all my life, I never really imagined that I would actually get to meet Satan."  
  
"Are you done yet?" Bosco asked.  
  
They had reached the front door of the precinct when Faith turned and stopped Bosco. "You're not going to listen to her are you?" she asked.  
  
Bosco didn't even hesitate. "Of course not." he answered, pushing past her and opening the precinct doors. He was going back out to the streets to look for Julie, whether Cruz liked it or not…  
  
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CHAPTER 6 brings Officers Boscorelli and Yokas one step closer in finding out what happened to Julie. 


	6. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 6

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER SIX  
  
"It's like I told your mom, Bosco," Sarah, Julie's roommate, told Bosco and Faith the next day. "She left the store around 7:15 after helping Ray out for about an hour. That was the last I saw or heard from her."  
  
"Well, thanks anyways," Bosco said. He and Faith got up from their spots on the couch and walked outside.   
  
The night before Bosco and Faith had been out past one o'clock searching all the places they could think of. Parks, subway stops, public bathrooms; anywhere Julie could have been attacked and left. They had found nothing. They were now asking the material witnesses again what they saw last night, just in case Bosco and Faith had missed something. In this case, it was pretty hard to mistake what "nothing" stood for.  
  
"You wanna talk to Ray next?" Faith asked once they were outside.   
  
"Why bother, he's only going to give us the same answers that he did last night."  
  
"You never know, Bos."  
  
"Fine. Let's go." he said. He knocked, politely this time, on Ray's door. A woman, his wife, they assumed, answered the door. "Can I help you?" she asked. Both officers were in plain clothes, their shift not starting until later that day, so they showed her their badges.  
  
"I'm Officer Boscorelli and this is Officer Yokas. Is Ray around?"  
  
"He's downstairs in the store. You're welcome to go down if you want," she said.  
  
"Thank you, ma'am." Bosco said. He and Faith turned to walk down the stairs. "He's not in any trouble is he?" she called.  
  
Bosco turned around. "Don't worry. We're not after him."  
  
They entered the store through the front door. Ray spotted them immediately and gestured them to follow him into the back room. "Did you find her?" he asked.  
  
"No," Bosco said. "But we came back to ask you if there was anything that you forgot to tell us."  
  
"Or that we missed." Faith said.  
  
Ray looked around, apparently thinking. "No. Just what I told you last night."  
  
Bosco's face fell. He knew they weren't going to get any new information out of Ray, but deep down, he had hoped that they might. He shook hands with Ray. "Thanks for everything, Ray."  
  
"Sure." Ray said. He watched the two officers leave the back room and move towards the front door. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. "Hey!" he yelled.  
  
Bosco and Faith turned around.  
  
"You should ask that boyfriend of hers." Ray said. "He was in here when she left."  
  
"What boyfriend?" Bosco asked.  
  
"You know, her boyfriend," he said. "I never did catch his name, but I'm sure Sarah would know."  
  
"Julie doesn't have a boyfriend." Bosco said.  
  
"You sure?" Faith asked.  
  
"Positive. My mother would have said something." Bosco said. "She adores Julie and no way would this topic been avoided last night at dinner!"  
  
"All I know is that, once she left, he came up to the counter with his purchases." Ray said, getting Bosco's full attention. "He laid the stuff down and pointed at the door. He said to me, 'That's my girlfriend.'  
  
I was a little apprehensive at first, mostly because in all the time he was in the store, she hadn't talked to him. Hadn't even looked at him either! I was going to call him on it when he went on. He told me that they were fighting, and that's why she didn't talk to him. I shrugged my shoulders and accepted it. I know how stubborn Julie can get. You should have seen her when we were making up the lease agreement. Man, that girl can put up a fight!"  
  
"Wonder where she gets that from?" Faith asked.  
  
"Anyways, I figured he was telling the truth. He paid for his stuff and left."  
  
"Which way did he turn?" Bosco asked.  
  
"The same way Julie turned."  
  
"I'll be damned." Bosco whispered. "What did he look like?"  
  
"Um, well, he was kinda tall." Ray said, pausing long enough to make Faith think that was it.  
  
"Kinda tall?" Faith asked. "That's it?"  
  
"You didn't let me finish." Ray said. "He was kind of a heavy-set, older man. Not someone I would pick as Julie's type."  
  
Bosco was searching his brain for someone to match that profile. He came up with no one. He would have to ask Sarah, and his mother if he had to, if it sounded familiar.   
  
He was still thinking when Ray dropped the bomb that they had been searching for.  
  
"Oh, yeah." Ray said. "He stuttered, too." 


	7. It's All in the Family CHAPTER 7

It's All In the Family  
By Ceramac24  
  
CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
"Oh my god." Bosco said, dumbfounded by Ray's revelation. "Jerry."  
  
Faith and Bosco were out the door before Ray could even ask who that was. They jumped in Bosco's car and sped the few blocks to the brownstone that Jerry lived in. As he rounded the corner at 65 mph, the car fishtailed and he struggled to keep control of the car. His adrenaline was pumping now! The car screeched to a halt in front of the house. Bosco flew out of the car and took the stairs two at a time. He started to pound on the door.  
  
"Police! Open up!"   
  
There was nothing. "Open up, jag-off!" Bosco continued to pound on the door. "Let me break it down." he said to Faith, who stood behind him.  
  
"Bos." she said. "He's got to come back eventually."  
  
"She could be in there right now!"  
  
"And she might not be." Faith said. "It all could be a huge coincidence." She hated being the bad guy in this situation. Bosco needed people to help him, not hold him back. "I have an idea. Let's get to the station for roll call and take the RMP back here and not move until he comes back. I'll get Sully and Davis to cover us. Ok?"  
  
Bosco had no choice. If they found Jerry, maybe he could beat it out of him. That would be more rewarding, Bosco thought, getting into his car. He and Faith drove to the station for their shift.   
  
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"I always feel bad for the people who mess with your family." Faith said. They were staked out in front of Jerry's house. They'd been there for almost two hours, letting Sully and Davis take the all the calls. Sully understood that Bosco needed to do this, so he agreed to cover them for a few hours.  
  
"Why?" Bosco asked.  
  
"I just feel that if they did their research before hand, they would know who to mess with and who not to."  
  
Bosco just grunted and continued searching the area for Jerry. Something in the distance caught his eye. He leaned forward in the car and squinted at a figure only 500 feet away. Faith was completely oblivious to the figure, and she was still chatting away.  
  
"They should be featured in one of those 'Dumbest Criminal' books or something," she said, laughing at her own joke. Suddenly, she got a feeling that Bosco wasn't paying any attention to her. "Bos?" she asked, looking over at him.  
  
"Shh, Faith." he said, point over to his left. Walking towards them was none other than Jerry. Bosco used all of his efforts to remain calm.  
  
"Bosco, don't do anything stupid." Faith said, grabbing the door handle and exiting the RMP. "Jerry!" she said. She came around the front of the car, her and Bosco catching up with him on the sidewalk, just before his house.  
  
"What did…did I do…now?" Jerry stammered. He tried to get around them by stepping around them. Bosco, who refrained from saying anything up until this point, stepped in front of Jerry, refusing to let him pass.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" he said. "You don't, by any chance, have company waiting inside for you, do you?"  
  
"I don't know…what…what you're talking about."  
  
"I think you do, jag-off." Bosco said, getting in his face. "Where's Julie?"  
  
"I don't know!" Jerry said, avoiding Bosco's glare.  
  
Bosco grabbed him by the shirt with both hands and threw him up against the RMP. "Don't lie to me!" he screamed in Jerry's face. Bosco could have ripped his head off, and might have, if Faith hadn't stepped in. She was always doing that when he started to get riled up. "Bosco let him go," she said. She grabbed his left arm with both hands and tried to pull Bosco off of Jerry.  
  
Reluctantly, Bosco let go. He walked around to the passenger side of the RMP and got in. Faith turned back to Charlie. "This is your last chance Charlie to tell us where she is. Otherwise, this becomes a case for the ACU." she said. Faith came right up into Jerry's face. "And believe me, their not as lenient as Bosco is." He looked away. "You ever met Satan, Jerry?"  
  
Jerry managed to squeeze from under Faith's glare. He sidestepped her and started to walk up to the brownstone.  
  
She watched Jerry turn away and walk towards his front door. She looked back in the RMP at Bosco. He had his fist in his mouth as he stared out the passenger side window. Faith got into the car and put her hand on Bosco's shoulder. "I think that if we went to Cruz now, with this information, she'd get you the warrant."  
  
Bosco was silent. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Faith asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Bosco said.  
  
Not knowing what else to say that would even help, Faith threw the car in gear and headed back to the station to talk to Cruz. Faith just hoped the sergeant would be more understanding this time. 


End file.
